


Wild Things

by planetarium



Category: Dracula & Related Fandoms, Dracula (TV 2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bathing, Character Death, F/F, First Time, Friendship, Kissing, Romance, Sexual Content, vampire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-03-19 01:30:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3591270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetarium/pseuds/planetarium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jayne Wetherby was not shaken when she suggested to put Lucy out of her misery. </p><p>Lucy agreed. </p><p>Mina did not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd, all mistakes mine.  
> I just want them to be together. That's all I want.

Jayne Wetherby was not shaken when she suggested to put Lucy out of her misery.  

“A painless process, Mina,” Jayne traced the cedar box adorned with small gems. “A stake to the heart, quick,efficient, and the pain lasts no longer than a few heartbeats.”

A wooden stake was placed in Mina’s hands.

“Do not think of it as a cruel procedure, rather, consider that we are freeing her from misery.” Jayne’s long shadow stalked along the old cobblestone walls.

The stake was carved from fine wood, the tip sharpened to a dangerous point, easily able to pierce flesh. A small silver cross was nailed in the very middle. Mina does not want to imagine the cruel thing in Lucy's heart. 

Lucy was not Alexander Grayson, nor will she ever be. Her grip had tightened unconsciously on the weapon, so much so that her knuckles grew white.

“Do it Mina." 

Lucy's voice was a quiet rasp, the sound of a flickering flame. Mina's dearest friend, she thinks, does not look like this. Magnificent dress torn and stained with splotches of blood, dried to form a rich red, and her arms bruised from something. Lucy's golden hair is pressed against the grey basement tiles, a stark difference of clashing colours. Mina's friend gave a defeated smile. 

 Renewed energy coursed through Mina, she spun to face Jayne, who had laid another identical stake down on the rounded table. How many stakes to the heart did a vampire need? Mina did not want to think about Lucy's precious organ, fluttering, struggling for life. 

"Jayne, please, she can't be alright now, but I believe in her. She's my dearest friend, Jayne."

The woman scrutinises Mina. Words and arguments were building up in Mina’s distraught mind, she isn’t Alexander, _I know Lucy she isn’t capable of - won't be capable of the destruction Greyson caused, nor will she ever think to wreck such havoc because that is not Lucy-_

"Very well," Jayne gave a nod as she took the wooden stake from Mina, relieving her of the dead weight in her hand. "However," the adorned box shut again, with the two wooden stakes kept in place by one silver chain. “If we are to keep this wild thing alive, we must do so by my rules.” Jayne said as the lock to Lucy’s cell clicked shut. The empty noise reverberated from the basement’s walls, sounding much louder to Mina’s ears than what must’ve been. She saw Lucy’s face in her dreams, forlorn, weary, in the most heartbreaking way, as the cell clicked shut over and over again.

* * *

 It has been twelve days since Lucy has fed.

She sits in the darkest corner of her cell, with her back facing Mina and Jayne. She doesn’t speak, nor does she ever move. Mina wishes to break the lock and take her away, to a warm bed, a warm bath, a warm library. Anywhere but there. Lucy needs a new dress, a bath, a proper meal, and a proper bed. 

Jayne says that all will be arranged once the  _damned_ vampire would stop struggling against her nature. Despite Jayne's blatant disgust for the beasts, Mina believes Jayne holds onto something, a hope, perhaps, that Lucy's vampiric half could be tamed. Perhaps that is the reason Jayne makes trips to the farms everyday, to retrieve the blood of cattle and pigs, diluted of course, so not to overwhelm Lucy with bloodlust.Blood is extracted, four drops of blood to one drop of water, and placed in a china bowl inside the cage. A tedious process that Jayne does herself. She says that it is easier to monitor that way.

The first time Jayne places the bowl of blood before Lucy, Mina sees the way the vampire physically stiffens. Mina resists the urge to cry as her old friend twisted her head towards them. Darling Lucy, filth clung to her silky hair, eyes so hollow they might as well be dead, and her skin, once soft and supple, now covered with cuts, grime, and blood.

“Perhaps if we are successful, she will only need one drop of blood to four drops of water.” Jayne had said. 

Lucy studies Mina with a blank mask, she glances to the china bowl, once, twice, and pushes it away with quivering fingers. Mina catches the way Lucy bites her lip and digs her nails into her arm, as if that was the only way Lucy could keep herself sane.

“I must say,” Jayne strides towards the cage. “I applaud you for your self-restraint. But, you are no longer human, and this is your only way of survival.”

A feral snarl escapes from Lucy’s lips, a sound that makes Mina flinch, as her friend advances, so close to Jayne that her powerful hands could easily wring the life out of her.

“I would rather die.”

Jayne simply smiles. “All vampires come around.”

Mina tries desperately to forget the sound Lucy makes when the door to the basement is shut. Her memory takes her back to a rabid mongrel her uncle shot in the summer of her twelfth birthday. It had been barking all afternoon at passing carriages, wild geese, and birds. When Mina's uncle left the barn, he saw the feathers of a chicken and a matching pile of bones beside the mottled mutt. Mina remembers pleading for her uncle to let the thing go, but he wouldn't listen. ( _"Next thing you know darlin' he'd bring his whole pack out here.")_ As soon as the rifle was raised, a switch went off in the mutt, it darted forward, toward them, white froth against black gums, snapping its jaws and growling deep. Mina covered her eyes. She remembers the sound clear as day, the whimper of a dog who had given up. 

* * *

 The rats that Lucy shares her cell with have grown as fat as small lapdogs from the daily feasts of pig blood, dried fruits, nuts, and other human foods that Lucy used to enjoy. When the porcelain plate touches the floor, it takes less than a few seconds for the scrabbling rats to emerge from their foul nests, snatching away morsels before darting back. 

Jayne must think that Mina is foolish for cursing at the fat, wiry things, which grow bolder and fatter each day, and trying to keep them away from Lucy’s meals with a broken broomstick. 

Mina begs Jayne to do something, for she could not bear the sight of Lucy, curled up in the grimy corner of her cell, with nothing but an itchy, patched rug as a blanket. Jayne laughs, _do you think it is necessary to force feed a vampire?_ she had said. _She isn’t that stupid._

* * *

Three weeks later, Lucy feeds.

When she does, the business is quick and her back is to Mina. But Mina could still hear Lucy gulping down the diluted blood, as if discovering an oasis after months in the desert. She wipes her lips and chin with the sleeve of her tattered dress.

Her eyebrows were scrunched and she repeats the action of wiping her mouth, before she dips her entire hand into the water bowl. With wet hands, she scrubbed away at her fingers, then her arms, her lips, and her chin, fiercely, until the skin broke red.

* * *

Learning shortly after that their home was no longer quite the paradise they thought it was, the fat rats all disappeared from the basement within a few days. Mina, on the same day the rats disappeared, urged Jayne to let Lucy bathe.

“Do you realise how filthy the conditions are for rats to grow to the size of lapdogs?” Mina said, following after Jayne as she ascended the stairs. “This basement might be home to thousands of diseases because you are so unwilling to provide a hygienic-”

“Do as you will,” Jayne dusted her hands, “the _dead_ cannot die from-”

“I am giving Lucy a bath, regardless of what you think of it.”

Mina did not wait for Jayne’s response as she pushed past the older woman, into the exquisite bathroom to draw a bath for Lucy. Jayne's porcelain claw foot bathtub was impressive, Mina doubts many would be able to afford such an extravagant piece. As the water began to fill, Mina rushed down the stairs, into the dark garden to pick gardenias, roses, and lilies. On her way back to the bathroom, she selects some coconut and betel leaves from Jayne's pantry (she shan't miss them much and she imports many goods anyway). 

When the water was still very hot, Mina scattered the leaves, followed by the fragrant flowers, covering the shimmering surface in a sea of red, pink, and white. One long mirror in the bathroom becomes foggy from the heat, and the strong scent of flowers seem to seep through into her very being. Mina herself wants to lay her head on the porcelain rim roll and breathe in the sweet aroma of blossoms, but she knows the bath would be a small luxury for Lucy- trapped in the basement, where time and warmth do not seem to exist.

A bath was the least she could do for Lucy.

* * *

 

The key to the cell is within sight.

 _What are you doing?_ Her eyes seemed to say. _Have you gone_ mad?  
  
She twists it in the keyhole and the cage clicks open. 

Never before had Mina seen Lucy so afraid. She did not move from her position on the floor. When Mina steps into the confines of the metal bars, she sees the way Lucy tenses and her eyes widen. It's like approaching a wild animal, Mina thinks, as she moves slowly toward Lucy. Lucy is uncomfortable, worried, and scared, all that is blatantly obvious to Mina, who knows Lucy like no other. She lowers herself onto the floor, it is wet and sticky with dry blood, powdery from dust. 

It is when her warm fingers brush against Lucy's cold ones, that Mina truly recognises how much she has missed Lucy,  _her_ Lucy. She dares to run her thumb against Lucy's, measuring the vampire's reaction. Lucy pulls away abruptly, as if Mina had burned her with scathing flames.  _Fool_. Mina chides.  _Look what you have done._ Lucy does not appear hurt or offended, just shocked.  _Can she feel the racing of my heart?_ Mina dares again to touch Lucy's hand, she does this time, and Lucy does not pull back. Lucy's sharp intake of breath and dilated pupils show Mina Lucy  _knows_. 

 _Could feel the steady rhythm of her heart. Could hear her deepening breath. Could sense the nerves coursing through her body_.  _Could feel the flush creeping up her neck._

Mina stays still for a few heartbeats, with just her hand against Lucy's. She wants to reach out fully, but daren't, for her courage seemed to be swept away by some invisible force. If Lucy was to pull away again, Mina doesn't think she shall live. Yes, she could survive with Lucy despising her, but for her friend to be silent and lifeless was torture.  _A cruel game._

When Lucy offers Mina her open palm, Mina tentatively intertwines their fingers, seeking permission for the fragile contact. How Mina's heart sings when Lucy gently squeezes her hand in assurance. 

 _Yes,_ a part of Mina seemed to sigh.  _I've grown so terribly mad without you._

"Let's go," Mina says, her voice sounding too loud and shattering the silence. "Let's get you clean." 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd, all mistakes mine.

It’s hard not to look, Mina decides. 

Especially when Lucy’s gaze is burning into hers. Bright eyes oddly fierce, undisturbed by her own nakedness. Mina has to look away the second Lucy started to undress, only daring to glance when the last of Lucy’s corset hit the tiles with a quiet _thump_. She could feel Lucy watching the movement of her throat. 

Lucy’s clothes are stained with dry blood and dirt, strewn haphazardly across the bathroom tiles. Mina can only stand, busying herself with smoothing invisible wrinkles on her dress and wringing out the wet towel.

Where did the certainty Mina felt mere seconds ago disappear off to?

Mina brings the towel to Lucy’s cheek first. She dare not linger, for even now, Lucy’s skin is soft, eyelashes luscious, lips-  Mina rubs in circles, clearing off the dirt, before tracing down the sides of Lucy’s neck, to her chest and- 

She will not marvel. So Mina focuses on removing blood and dirt, not on the curves and dips of Lucy, or the softness, or the mole above her hip, another mole, almost teasingly inviting on Lucy’s shoulder. (Begging for a kiss). 

A pang grips her heart at the sight. _How foolish!_ Mina scolds herself. Lucy’s wrists are blossomed pink. When Mina touches the tender skin, Lucy tenses and almost withdraws entirely. It is with a tentative brush of her thumb that Mina pleaded. _Please stop_ Mina seemed to try to say, _stop for me._

Once Lucy sinks into the warm water she visibly relaxes. She is almost childlike in the way she touches the petals of a floating flower and dips her hands underwater.  Mina runs the soft bristles of the hairbrush through Lucy’s knotted hair without a word. She keeps her hands busy, rinsing Lucy's hair with warm water, washing out the small layers of shaved soap and herbs. She braids a white rose into Lucy's hair.

The whole time Mina tries not to be too cold or too tender. Mina should know better than anyone, that when it came to Lucy, her heart would always lean toward being tender. And so, she traces the column of her neck, frowning at the defined collar bone and her spine. 

Was Lucy always so frail? Was she always so thin? 

The old Lucy would have never allowed this to happen. But after the whole ordeal with Alexander Grayson, Mina doubts that any of them have remained unchanged. 

Lucy pulls away.

* * *

When Mina helps Lucy dress again, in clean nightclothes and dries off her hair with a fresh towel, Mina takes Lucy's hand. 

There’s a look of confusion that passes across Lucy’s features when she notices they aren’t descending the stairs, down to the stony basement, but rather towards a bedroom. It's the bedroom Jayne offered Mina to stay in, considering commuting to and from the town would take far too long. The room is dark, all candles burnt to nothing but a small wax puddle. It takes a pat on the mattress for Lucy to sit. 

Ever since Lucy whispered her sweet, sweet words, Mina finds it harder than ever to not notice. She feels Lucy’s eyes fixed on her as she changes into her own night clothes. Lucy, a friend, and at the same time, a pining lover. Lucy's body is cold and Mina quivers. The room smells of roses. (Lucy smells like roses). Like clockwork, their fingers meet. 

It has been a long time since they have been this close. Face to face on a bed. The last time, Lucy had looked at her with such hot desire, stealing glances at her mouth, listening to Mina's university troubles, all the while remaining effortlessly feminine, vivacious, charming. Lucy had been quick to criticise, to insult, all those who did not see Mina's intelligence or were quick to write her off as a mere woman. Was that her duty as a friend? Since when did she feel that way? Why did she- 

The more Mina thinks, the more Mina believes maybe there is not such a clear distinction between. If Mina had said no, Lucy would have kept her distance. She would still look, with the hidden desire in her eyes, but she would not dare to kiss or touch. 

She is still the same Lucy. A little cooler to the touch, a little more weary. 

“What are you thinking of?” Mina wishes to curse at herself for such a foolish question, because Lucy responds just as softly. 

“You.”  

Her heart constricts and rises to her throat, where she hears the unspoken words sliding from Lucy’s tongue.  _It’s always you._  

“Lucy, I-”

“I know.”  Lucy breathed and withdrew her hand.  
  
Yet the words echo in Mina’s ears. _I know._

* * *

She reaches out, occasionally, from her cell in the afternoon, waving her hand in front of gentle beams of light that fall in from the barred window. Her hand doesn’t stay still for long before her skin begins to burn and give off wisps of white smoke. Before that happens, and Mina fears she’d combust, Lucy draws her hands into the shadows again.  

Mina supposes it is painful, given the way Lucy runs her fingertips along the rosy burns and frowns. But she can never really tell. Not when Lucy looks just as curious as Mina feels. There’s an itch in Mina’s fingertips, an itch to do more. (But gone are the days when Mina could touch her innocently.  Not when Lucy’s gaze is fiercer than ever.) 

Did Lucy miss the sun? Did she miss the warmth? Did she miss the day? 

Her hands slide into the sunlight again. It’s a sick experiment. Finding exactly how long she could keep still under the light. (Before she turns to ashes.) 

There’s the hiss again. Burning. Hot. 

Lucy withdraws into the darkness. Her eyes are focused on the glimmering bits of golden light. Shimmering amber light swirls in her eyes. The air in the basement is far too musty and the wind is still. She gazes out into the garden with such a yearning expression on her face. 

So much so that Mina feels incredulous.

(To be jealous.)

Yet, it should be fitting that Lucy’s lover is the sun. 

(Oh, especially when Mina feels colder each day.) 

* * *

 Perhaps Jayne is not as cold as she makes herself out to be. All it took were some persuasive words and a deep frown from Mina, to let Jayne agree to allow Lucy access to the garden at night. It is one of the many liberties Jayne has given in to. 

 “You needn’t stay.” Lucy says one night. 

 Mina closes the leather bound textbook and dares to glance in Lucy’s direction. 

 "Oh, but Lucy,” Mina digs her nails into the cover,  “I must, I must know how you are doing.” 

“You ought to go,” Lucy’s voice sounded raw from the lack of use.  “You ought to live your life.” 

So Mina stares at her old friend, Lucy. So very different. How she misses Lucy. The Lucy who lit up the entire room when she stepped in, all lavish dresses and all charming words. At times Mina can still hear them hanging in the air, _Mina, darling, love, dear, lovely, handsome, Mina,_ and what Mina would give just to hear Lucy say those sweet words again. 

“It’s not my life,” Mina tried, “without you.” 

“Mina, love,” the words leave Lucy and sound almost like a sigh. 

It’s ridiculous how Mina can only hear Lucy’s sweet sweet _love,_ how wonderful it will be to hear Lucy say it once more. Then, Lucy glances up to her with an unreadable expression. 

“You mustn’t say such inviting things to me,” Lucy’s tone was softer, tired, defeated. Did Lucy still yearn for her?

Something must have gotten into Mina. Wedged its way deep into her heart.  “Or else?” 

A weak smile touches the corners of Lucy’s lips. “We have danced that dance already, Mina darling.” 

The unspoken words hanged between the two of them. 

_And look where we ended up._

* * *

  _You must go, Mina._

 Lucy’s words ring in her mind, even in the comfort of her own bed. It has been four days since Lucy had last shared the bed. _How foolish!_ If Mina had said nothing instead, been smart enough to be the friend that Lucy _needs_ , Lucy would not have had to revert back to her awful sleeping quarters. 

Before Mina can truly comprehend her actions, she finds herself in the basement. Lucy is upright, 

“Can’t sleep?” Mina's voice is far too loud in the silence.

Lucy opens one eye. “Barely can these days.” 

Then it is quiet. 

“Come to bed with me,” Mina says, “I can’t sleep without you.”

It is not fair, Mina knows. A flash of pain crosses Lucy's eyes. But Mina waits, lacing her fingers, daring to hope. She is not sure how long she waits. When the cage door opens, Mina had began to doze. Lucy takes Mina's hand this time. 

And they settle down under the covers in Mina's bedroom. The bed is too small for two people, only intended for one. Mina no longer jumps when Lucy's cold thigh presses against hers.  

“It’s a peculiar body, Mina.” Mina feels Lucy shift in the darkness. Her hand instinctively reaches out for Lucy— but her mind catches up, and she stops. “Sometimes human, sometimes not…” 

She dares not breathe should the noise shatter this fragile line to Lucy’s heart. 

“The noise inside my head won’t hush. That’s the worst part of it. Staying awake, being unable to… escape from it. It’s there the whole time.” 

Even in the darkness Mina could see Lucy reaching her hand out. An action that is reminiscent of blocking out the sun. Lucy would never feel its warmth without burning.  

“Sleep doesn’t come. It’s persistent, never a tomorrow, always a _now_.”

Mina reaches out for Lucy, pulling her head to her breast.  “Listen to my heartbeat.” 

It is a peculiar feeling. (Nobody has been so close to Mina before.)   

“It’s beating so fast.” She sounds more surprised than playful. "Is it always like this?"  

“It’s normal,” Mina said despite her warm cheeks.  “Women have a faster heartbeat." 

She can feel the smile blossoming on Lucy's lips. Something sharp grazes the thin layer of Mina's nightgown. Fangs. A hot shiver runs down Mina's spine, only to build between her thighs. When Lucy shifts to bring herself closer, a slim leg presses against Mina's heat and an involuntary soft gasp escapes. 

If Lucy hears, she does not say. (She does not withdraw her leg either.) 

Mina does not let the feeling build. Lucy takes in a deep breath, nuzzling into Mina. A noise resembling a purr rumbles from her throat.

It is not sleep, Mina knows, for Lucy can no longer sleep. 

Yet, Lucy spends the dark hours with her ear pressed to Mina's chest. Lucy's breath too, falls into a steady rhythm with the rise and fall of Mina's breath. Soon, the stiff, cool body in Mina's arm relaxes and warms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated!  
> (A happy ending, I promise).


End file.
